


Down Amongst The Gods

by FunkyinFishnet



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Canon, Developing Relationship, Gods, M/M, Male Slash, Religion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 17:41:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1656890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunkyinFishnet/pseuds/FunkyinFishnet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the F1 world, everybody worships the gods and goddesses. Jenson has been taught since birth about their importance and he makes sure that he always pays his respects, in his own way, especially before and after races. One day, he finds an unexpected offering at a temple...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Down Amongst The Gods

**Author's Note:**

> Much love to sarcasticmissy who betaed this and enthused, thank you so much.
> 
> Also thanks to ingenius whose Ice Hockey RPF story [Be Thou My Ally](http://archiveofourown.org/works/977648) inspired this one, check out her story because it's amazing.

 

 

Whenever a driver crashed out of a race, the media always wondered if maybe the pantheon just wasn't on the driver's side that day. Jenson had wondered that a few times himself, he always prayed every race day to Vermilion – McClaren's favoured deity – and dropped a few coins at whatever shrine had been set up locally for Ribon, god of speed, fast-thinking and thievery. Jenson also always spent considerable time at Melina's temple, goddess of safety and assurance. He wasn't the most devoted son of the pantheon, but he wasn't stupid.

 

“Only do it if you mean it,” Jenson's mother had always said. “They'll know if you're lying.”

 

Which was a fair point. Jenson had been hearing about the pantheon, their names and values, for as long as he could remember. There'd been set prayer times every day at school, lessons about the belief systems that people chose locally and worldwide, and ceremonial celebrations on especially holy days. Jenson had just liked the food at first, the feasts, sweets, and especially the white cakes that regularly got made for Isis, the goddess believed to watch over Frome, his hometown. He still regularly left a slice or two at her altar because she knew how much he still loved that cake and yet he was giving it to her instead. It was his version of a sacrifice; he refused to believe that the pantheon didn't have a sense of humour.

 

That had always been Jenson's attitude, he was respectful but he was never anything other than himself. Back in his heavier drinking days, he'd left beer bottle caps and taxi stubs at temples and shrines. Some priests had been better than others at hiding their displeasure at how much he'd stunk of alcohol. He'd emptied out his pockets for the pantheon because those kinds of offerings were very him, they were little pieces of who he was and he gave them to the gods. His family never spent a fortune on worship and only one of Jenson's family had been called to the faith – a cousin who’d become a priestess at the local Isis temple. However the Button family knew how to be truthful in their dedication to the pantheon and that was what mattered.

 

Jenson still smiled when he remembered how, a few years ago, he'd entered the temple of Vermillion close to Silverstone and had noticed one of Lewis's trademark earrings in the altar dish. He remembered being impressed and glad. Not all the drivers were so genuine in their worship, that was their right, but Jenson was never surprised when luck, or something more, seemed to be against them out on track.

 

He slowed to a stop when he reached the inner sanctum of Vermillion's Monte Carlo temple – much smaller than the others that he regularly ducked into around the world but still pretty and ornate. The temple’s priests and priestesses had already greeted him, stating that it was good to see Jenson again and could they help at all? Jenson had shaken his head; he tended to do any in-depth worship business when he had a lot of time, something that never happened on race weekends. He just wanted to pay his respects, thank Vermillion for the easy journey over, and ask for continued blessings.

 

Oh, that was...unexpected. The turquoise light was on outside the inner sanctum door, signalling that someone was in there but that they didn't mind being disturbed if anyone else wanted to come in. Most people liked to worship privately, to whisper their worries and pain without being overheard or judged. Clearly whoever was now visiting Vermillion was different. Well, Jenson wasn't planning on spilling anything secret so he pushed the door open.

 

Inside, another surprise. Nico Rosberg was stood with his hands in his pockets, humming softly as he gazed up at the Vermillion icon. There were several candles lit at her feet amid a pile of offerings. Nico looked relaxed and comfortable, not out of place at all, despite the fact that he had no reason at all to seek out Vermillion's temple. Mercedes considered the god Kallista theirs, so why was Nico there?

 

Nico didn't turn around, even though he had to have heard Jenson entering the room. Instead, he let Jenson stare at him, at his attractive profile. Nico was very aware of his own qualities, Jenson was too. He'd always admired how Nico dealt with the pantheon. He was respectful when he talked about them and while his offerings might have been showy sometimes, Jenson had seen the serious look in Nico's eyes when he'd laid down such offerings. Something interesting was going on there.

 

Also interesting were the little ways in which Nico interacted with Jenson, letting him see the small private smiles that Nico kept hidden from the media, touching Jenson's hand whenever they brushed by each other, getting into Jenson's personal space whenever they interacted at the track but always dipping away before Jenson could press back. Very interesting, kindling a nice little fire in fact, a fire that never properly got going either because their lives were ridiculously busy or maybe because, frustratingly, Nico wasn't actually keen on going any further with Jenson.

 

Now though, Jenson waited until Nico finally turned towards him, his face beautiful in the soft light. “Are you lost?”

 

Nico smiled one of those small private smiles again; it made something twist in Jenson’s chest. “Just leaving an offering.”

 

“…Here?”

 

Nico’s smile was more amused now and it encouraged Jenson to step closer. Nico watched him avidly, his gaze sweeping Jenson from top to toe. The heat it left behind made Jenson take a deep anticipatory breath. Gods, if Nico ducked away this time…

 

“I was asking for your safety. She cares for you.”

 

Nico gestured to Vermillion who stood over them, carved and perfect, her bright-red hair adorned with the ever-present lively cricket and her smile enigmatic, somehow always welcoming wherever Jenson saw her image. He looked up at her now, the air tingling around him, Nico’s words running on a loop in his head. Nico had asked for his safety, he’d used some of his precious free time away from the track to visit the temple of the goddess that was favoured by Jenson’s team. That was…interesting. Jenson’s lips twitched.

 

With deliberate movements, he moved close to the altar, brushing against Nico, enjoying the electric-static charge of their contact. Neither of them feinted away from it, the lingering touch made them both smile. Jenson forced his attention back to the altar and carefully unclasped one of the pantheon medallion bracelets that he often wore. The discs were worn and warm under his fingers and the fact that he was leaving it there would tell Vermillion exactly how grateful he was for his day so far.

 

He dropped the tinkling bracelet into the altar dish and pressed crooked fingers to his chest, murmuring thanks to Vermillion for his safe journey and asking for a good, safe race weekend. When he straightened up, Nico was angled towards him in a way that was so deliberate it was laughable, but it still made heat swell through Jenson.

 

“Offering flesh now?”

 

Nico’s grin was just about on the tempting side of wicked. “I told you, she likes you. She wants your happiness.”

 

It was a nice line and so cocky. Jenson couldn’t help grinning back, just as wickedly, an expression that only sharpened when Nico shifted his posture slightly, biting his lush bottom lip. Fuck, Nico knew exactly what he was doing, but there was that shade of seriousness in his eyes too, the shade that Jenson had seen before though never in this context. It told him that this wasn't going to be just a bit of fun, that Nico did actually want to go further.

 

Good. Nico was a notorious flirt, but whenever Jenson looked at him, at Nico's private smile or public face, Jenson just knew that if anything substantial ever actually happened between them, it would be tidal. And Nico had finally chosen a temple for a step towards that. Of course he had.

 

Jenson dipped in suddenly with his reply, kissing Nico's grin. They smiled together, Nico eager and shameless as he slid his hands into Jenson's back pockets. Jenson chuckled and licked Nico's lips apart, exploring the taste of chocolate, beer, and Nico. Nico groaned prettily and ground his hips closer.

 

The sound of footsteps outside the door broke Jenson's concentration, reminding him that he was in a _temple_ and that his mother, as well as the goddess herself, might not be thrilled with his current behaviour. Nowadays, that was enough to make him take a little step back, his fingers lingering on Nico's face. Nico complained, with apologies to Vermillion, but he followed Jenson out of the temple and back towards the track. They both had other things to concentrate on right now.

 

*

 

Jenson got a podium at the race, Nico radiated smugness when he fixed his gaze on Jenson from his own podium position. Jenson made a quick visit to the Vermillion temple after he'd finished answering the media's questions, it was something he did after every race. He left his sweat-soaked baseball cap on the altar, trusting that these particular priests wouldn't sell it – he'd had a few issues with that kind of thing in other countries. He focused on the altar after his prayers, a sudden grin sweeping his face because right there amongst the offerings was a huge and very familiar empty bottle of champagne, it was one of the bottles always given to those who achieved podium positions – it had to be Nico's offering. There was something wedged underneath the bottle too, something that had his name on it.

 

It was, it was Jenson's name scrawled across a hotel keycard. There was that heat again and that twist in his chest. Jenson laughed, the sound echoing pleasingly off the temple walls. He shared a grin with the Vermillion icon, holding up the card for her frozen eyes to see. She’d no doubt seen it already but he always interacted with her like that, like she was right there beside him. Well, she was, wasn’t she? And she definitely had a good sense of humour.

 

Gods, Nico was a cocky bastard. Still, once Jenson had said a few more prayers in light of his discovery, he took the keycard with him, the heat inside of him coiling nicely. It'd be a real shame to ignore such a gift from the gods.

 

_-the end_


End file.
